Snuggles with Mama

I don't know what I would do if Hazen didn't like to snuggle. One of my most favorite things that we do ever since I started working, is when I get home from a long day, and just want to relax, Hazen likes to hop on the couch with me and give me hugs and kisses. He also knows that it's the easiest way to get out of an imminent bedtime, because I will let him stay up all night long as long as we're cuddling! It makes me so happy when I catch him looking up at me, followed by a tight squeeze, and hearing him tell me how much he loves me. I know that lots of moms feel this way, but I can't believe how lucky and blessed I am to have Hazen as my little boy.

Kitchen Helper

While I spend 1/2 of the time freaking out that he is going to catch Salmonella, I love letting Hazen help cook dinner. I feel like it's a lot smarter to let him help out with food preparation than to just scoot him out of the kitchen and have him watch TV. Last week, we were making something that required pounded chicken tenderloins, so I allowed Hazen to do the pounding. He had a blast! I'm so happy that Hazen is getting to the age where he is good, free help around the house. :)

Halloween

I hate Halloween. It is no secret. But there is one thing that I do NOT hate. Little boys running around in pretend animal costumes. Especially little boys that are dressed like dinosaurs, because, you know, he is PERFECT. I wish I was that mom who made costumes for my kid, but we definitely went the easy route, and bought it from Children's Place. We bought it a month ago, and in that time, he grew a few inches, so his costume was a little bit small, but he was still adorable.

On Friday, there was a Halloween Carnival at his preschool. All the kids at the school sang a bunch of songs and even recited some poems. Oh....minus Hazen. The kid sat silently on the stand the entire time. Don't you worry, though, in the time since, Haz has been busy singing the songs at home. Maybe next time he'll chime in at the assembly!

Hazen was able to go Trick-or-Treating with the cousins at Heather's house, and he LOVED every second of it. It was raining pretty hard, so I wasn't able to take pictures while we were out, but it was so cute. Abbie was great, whenever he would lag behind, she would take him by the hand, and make sure that he got his fair share of candy. He's lucky to have such great family live so close by! By the time that we hit most of Heather's neighborhood, the kids were cold, tired, and candied out, so we headed home. Ever since, Hazen has been telling us about how much fun he had while Trick-or-Treating, and asking when we can go again. I guess he'll be pretty bummed when he understands that it's not going to be for a long time!

Employed!

So, as we may or may not have already discussed, I took the NCLEX on the 23rd of September. I was able to pass after only 75 questions, which is the minimum number of questions required. The current climate of job opportunities for new grads is NOT good. Only a few days after I passed the NCLEX, I had an interview at Timpanogos Hospital, which was a super lucky feat in and of itself. It took a while to hear back if I got the job or not, so while I was waiting, I was able to get a job working flu clinics. It is such an amazing feeling to be working as an RN!

After a little over 2 weeks of doing the flu clinics, I got a phone call saying that I had gotten the job at Timp! I was in the middle of doing a clinic, and it was hard not to cry a little bit. It's so crazy to think that everything that I have worked so hard for the past 2 years is falling into place. It just goes to show how prayers are answered, and how much hard work pays off! So, if you see a cute NURSE in NON-ROYAL BLUE scrubs? It's me. :)

Preschool Trip to HeeHaw

Hazen had another field trip a few weeks ago, this time to the Pumpkin Patch. Lesson Learned: I need to stop wearing nice shoes to the stupid Pumpkin patch, because HeeHaw Farms has now ruined two pairs of shoes, two years in a row. We were able to pick out a special pumpkin, go through the corn maze (read, let the kids walk like, 50 yards in, because we didn't want to get lost in the stupid maze), see some animals, and go on a hay ride. These fieldtrips are always super exhausting, but it's really fun to see Hazen getting older and older. Man, that kid is cute!

Weird Crap Kids Eat

The other day, Hazen came home, dead-set on having a unique little snack; Ritz Crackers with Ketchup on them. Both Jason and I tried to talk him out of it for a while, but he had his mind set on this "delicious" treat, and there wasn't a thing we could do to change it! I was positive that after only a few bites, he'd realize that he was making a gross decision just eat the crackers alone- but I was wrong! I remember when I was little, I liked to eat ketchup on my corn on the cob. Gross. Kids are weird, but at least mine is cute.

Tired Daddy

If anyone knows much about Jason, they know that he is one thing- a hard worker. He worked full-time nights ALL during nursing school so that I didn't have to work a day, and so that I could spend as much time studying or with Hazen as possible. This resulted in spans where Jason would sometimes get only 10-12 hours of sleep in a week period. Instead of being super intense about sleeping every second that he was home, he would sleep for a few hours (sometimes less), and then spend as much time with Hazen as possible. So, basically, Jason has sacrificed everything, including his desire to have a full-time firefighting job, so that his family could be well provided for, both financially, but emotionally, as well. This past week, since I started working, Jason didn't get to sleep as much, either, but always tried to get up, play with the boy, and even make me breakfast before I went to work. Am I a lucky lady, or what?? I was able to catch a few cute moments with Hazen and Jason. Hazen sometimes just wants to be near Jason, so he will adapt to whatever Jason's doing- even if it's sleeping. So cute! We love our "Daddy Boy". He's the very best around.